A couple and their 12-year-old daughter were killed in plane crash months after a dad earned his pilot's licence.
Three victims of a crash in the Gulf of Mexico have been identified after the tragedy on Saturday.
The victims included a father who was the pilot, a mother and their 12-year-old daughter.
Christian Kath, 42, who originally hails from Queensland, Australia, was flying the Piper Cherokee PA-28 aircraft while his wife Misty, 43 and daughter Lilly were passengers.
The pair had moved to St Petersburg, Florida, US, where their youngest daughter Harper was at a sleepover at a friend's home when the aircraft crashed off the coast of Venice Beach.
She is now the only remaining member of the family-of-four and has been left without parents and a big sister.
Aviation records by ABC station WWSB, showed Christian had only got his licence on July 21.
He had shared a social media post in March marking his first solo flight and "halfway through" the process of getting his private pilot's licence after his flying lessons started in December 2021.
In a Facebook post he said: "I flew solo for the first time today! Felt so proud to finally achieve something I've been wanting to do since I was 8 years old.
"Thanks for putting up with my early morning lessons and late night studying Misty Kath; it will all feel worth while when we can fly to the Keys for a weekend away with Lily and Harper soon.
"Feel lucky to live and be learning to fly in such a beautiful part of the world!'
His wife Misty replied: "So, so proud of you!!! I cannot wait for all our flying adventures."
They had rented a plane from St Petersburg, Florida and flew south to the city of Venice for dinner.
Leaving Venice Municipal Airport at 7.30pm, they are believed to be returning when the aircraft came down in water off Venice Beach.
Authorities were alerted by the Federal Aviation Administration( FAA) which reported a single engine plane took off but did not return to the airport in St Petersburg.
Police Chief Charlie Thorpe told how the wreckage was spotted offshore where the plane was submerged in 15 feet of water.
Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office divers found the dead girl in the passenger area, while Misty's body was found a few kilometres by nearby boaters
Emergency crews are still trying to find Christian's body.
He was an operating manager for dairy and honey producers. and his wife Misty, who was from Fiji moved to Australia and went to the University of Queensland.
reports say the family moved to Chicago before arriving in Florida.
The reason for the tragedy is still to be determined.
Plane wreckage from the scene was taken out of the water before being sent to Jacksonville for an investigation investigation into what happened by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The investigation into what happened will involve the US Coast Guard, Sarasota Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the District 12 Medical Examiner's Office.
